Saudi Arabia: Japanese firms to build biggest power and desalination plant

Published August 3rd, 2005 - 11:36 GMT

Japanese trading houses Marubeni Corporation, Itochu Corporation and construction firm JGC Corporation will join hands to set up a US$1.1 billion power and desalination plant in Saudi Arabia, accordin

Japanese trading houses Marubeni Corporation, Itochu Corporation and construction firm JGC Corporation will join hands to set up a US$1.1 billion power and desalination plant in Saudi Arabia, according to a Japanese report on Wednesday.

The plant is set to supply all its power and water output to a petrochemical plant that Sumitomo Chemical Company intends to launch in 2008 through a joint venture with Saudi Aramco, said the Nikkei business daily.

Supplying 380,000 kw of power as well as 7,405 tons of water an hour, the plant is projected to be the biggest of its kind in Saudi Arabia and to generate average annual sales of about US$ 180 million, the report added.

The three Japanese companies have already founded a joint venture with ACWA Power, an independent power company in Saudi Arabia that will build the power and desalination plant on the petrochemical plant site.